


slipping through my fingers

by cherry_grace



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AtsuIwa, Haikyuu Japanese Men's Volleyball Team, M/M, Songfic, one-sided iwaoi, post timeskip haikyuu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25720888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherry_grace/pseuds/cherry_grace
Summary: Iwaizumi was always slipping through his fingers
Relationships: minor iwaizumi hajime/miya atsumu, one-sided Oikawa Tooru/Iwaizumi Hajime
Comments: 11
Kudos: 65





	slipping through my fingers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oyaoyanishinoya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oyaoyanishinoya/gifts).



> song used in this fic is called "I'm in the Mood for Love" julie london version. enjoy :)

“Why am  _ I  _ getting invited?” Oikawa huffed. Hinata laughed on the other end of the call. 

“Iwaizumi-san said that he wanted you there!”

Oikawa clicked his tongue, trying  _ very  _ hard to ignore the flutter in his heart.

“Who’s else coming?” he resumed after a sigh.

“Well…” Hinata started slowly. “The Japanese Volleyball team.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes. “ _ Oi _ , Hinata. I hope you know that I’m rolling my eyes right now.” He heard Hinata gulp, who, knowing Oikawa, was expecting the storm of questions he was about to unleash on him. “Why would I want to fly over to Japan to spend time with the  _ Japanese Volleyball team _ ? You know I play for Argentina? I blocked one of your spikes last year?” 

“Yes, yes,” Hinata answered, exasperated. “I know you play for Argentina.” Then, in a lower voice, “I would’ve hit that ball straight down if only your arms didn’t show up at the last second.”

After Hinata sighed, their conversation halted, though Oikawa’s thoughts did not. How was he going to face  _ him?  _

“So he’s gonna be there, huh...”

“What was that, Oikawa-san?”

Oikawa stifled a gasp.  _ Fuck, did I just say that out loud? _

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “I was just thinking about the headaches that some of you there would give me.”

Hinata yelped on the other end. “Does this mean that you’re coming?!”

Oikawa rubbed his temples. This was going to be a wild ride.

“Yes,” he finally answered. “Yes, I’m coming.”

\---

A campfire crackled on the beach as the Japanese team chattered about in the dim evening. Oikawa watched from a distance, standing by the water. He closed his eyes as he listened to the calm waves, running the plan through his head once again. Things were going to change tonight. He couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Oikawa trudged towards the lively group. As the light of the campfire revealed his presence, he heard a familiar yell.

“Oikawa-san!!!” 

Heads turned, and a familiar shorty emerged from the crowd. 

“Hinata!” Oikawa exclaimed as he hugged his friend. Ushijima and Kageyama appeared behind him with small smiles on their faces. Oikawa locked his jaw and glared at them, the tension high in the air. Then, almost immediately, he broke his little act and opened his arms to hug them.

Oikawa’s hands grew clammy as he pulled away from Ushijima and Kageyama. He knew who was next. 

“Hey, shithead.”

Then they met eyes. 

Iwaizumi stood next to the campfire, his hands in the pockets of his navy blue shorts. His light blue, short-sleeved shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his tanned chest and stomach. Though he was an athletic trainer now, it seemed that he still kept himself in shape as if he played volleyball.

Oikawa wanted to turn around that instant. He wanted to catch the earliest flight back to Argentina, change his number, change his name, hell, even change his appearance.

Then, in a blink of an eye, Iwaizumi enveloped him into a tight hug. Hesitantly in return, Oikawa wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi. 

“It’s been a while,” Iwaizumi said as he pulled away. Oikawa nodded his head.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.” He took his eyes off of Iwaizumi and stared at the sand. “Sorry.”

The two had become disconnected in the past two years. With differing time zones, it was hard to call and text each other. Especially since Oikawa had to work himself harder to make a name for himself in a foreign country and since Iwaizumi had to take on the rigorous curriculum of an athletic training major, the two best friends struggled with holding a conversation. 

A few years passed and Iwaizumi got accepted into an American college. When the news reached Oikawa, his heart had skipped a few beats; he couldn’t believe that his Iwaizumi was going to be in the same half of the world as him. By just a few hours, they were closer. And that was when Oikawa really needed to give thought into the things concerning their friendship.

He couldn’t use time zones as an excuse for always ghosting Iwaizumi anymore. For sure, Oikawa would do everything in his power to stay up longer to talk to Iwaizumi. He was willing to be groggy at practice the next morning, skip breakfast, skip team bonding, skip  _ any  _ bonding with other people in general because he… 

Because he loved him.

But he couldn’t tell him that, because Oikawa knew that he  _ himself  _ wasn’t ready for a long distance relationship. He wanted to make it big in Argentina and surprise Iwaizumi in California with his big achievement first. He wanted to confess to him then, to ask him to spend the rest of his life with him. For an unhealthy amount of times, Oikawa had searched up how gay marriage worked in America. But of course, he needed to calm it down first because they weren’t even dating yet.

Everything was fine until Iwaizumi announced that he would be going back to Japan. He was going to be the national team’s athletic trainer.

“Ah well, I always pestered you about taking care of your injuries. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always concerned myself with those kinds of things, so I think that… this is what I really want to do,” he remembered Iwaizumi saying. Oikawa was speechless after that. A storm of emotions hit him like a truck. He was happy because Iwaizumi found his calling because of Oikawa, but he was devastated because Iwaizumi was slipping through his fingers again. 

Oikawa had trained hard to bring his skills to a higher level, and the buzz about the up-and-coming Japanese volleyball player in the Argentine league started to amp up. He was almost where he wanted to be for once. But, he had planned out the future so many times alone that he forgot to consider the possibility of Iwaizumi breaking those plans. It was difficult when Iwaizumi didn’t even know what Oikawa’s plans were, when he didn’t even know his thoughts, his feelings.

Another few years passed, and their relationship drifted apart more than ever. Oikawa drowned his sorrows into generating more power and spin on his jump serves during practice, quicker sets, and more accurate blocking. Familiar aches resurfaces throughout his body. He was overworking himself like the old days — only that there was no more Iwaizumi to take care of him.

Then they met again during the Olympics. Oikawa had almost collapsed after the match. It took everything in him, physically and mentally, to play a winning game  _ and  _ to get his thoughts off of Iwaizumi, who had only stood a few feet away from him then. To say that forgetting the game and walking over to Iwaizumi during a play was  _ tempting  _ would be an understatement. Damn, he was ready to make his team lose for Iwaizumi and to give him the sweet taste of victory that they never tasted in Aoba Johsai, but of course, that was the inner, crazy, love-struck side of Oikawa speaking and his rational self would never do it… not that there was much of a difference between his inner, crazy, love-struck self and rational self at that point. 

“Oh, is this Oikawa-san?” Another man with dyed hair emerged behind Iwaizumi, smiling. Oikawa returned his smile. He knew him. Atsumu Miya. The media had always compared their serves to each other.

Iwaizumi turned to Atsumu with a gentle smile. Oikawa gawked at the two. What was that?

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi answered. “Everyone, this is Oikawa. My childhood friend.”

Oikawa smiled at the crowd around him, embarrassed by the publicness of the introduction. 

“Oh yeah! The one on the Argentine team!” Bokuto exclaimed from the side.

“Ah, Bokuto-san. I’ll never forget your tight crosses,” Oikawa responded, nodding his head. He watched Bokuto’s grin grow wider at the praise.

“Well since everyone’s here,” Atsumu started. He stared into Iwaizumi’s eyes. That shared grin of theirs was weirdly irritating Oikawa again. What the hell was up with that?

“You all are our closest friends, and we wanted to share this announcement with you tonight,” Iwaizumi continued for him. “I-it’s a rather controversial topic and we understand if you don’t support it.”

Atsumu nodded his head. “But again, we felt that it was wrong to keep hiding this from you all, and that’s why we gathered everyone here tonight. Even you, Oikawa-san.”

Atsumu looked right into his eyes. Oikawa rapidly blinked as confusion and panic started to bubble in his stomach. What were they saying? What big announcement? What was this about friends? 

“Atsumu and I love each other,” Iwaizumi blurted out. 

The world was still for five seconds. Even the wind and the ocean were silent. Then, as if a spell was wearing off, the group started to rustle, and soon enough, cheers filled the air. People bolted at the couple, enveloping them in hugs and excited “congratulations”. 

Oikawa remained unmoving in his spot, his feet digging into the sand.

As the crowd cleared up again, Iwaizumi met Oikawa’s eyes. He walked right up to him with Atsumu by his side.

“I can’t imagine you missing this announcement,” Iwaizumi started.

_ I wish that I was never invited,  _ Oikawa wanted to say right back.

“But we’ve always been there for each other.”

_ Give me a break, we haven’t had a proper conversation since high school. _

“And I wanted you here because you’re my best friend.”

In a blur, Oikawa rushed to hug Iwaizumi 

“Congratulations,” he whispered into Iwaizumi’s ear in the barest of a whisper. His tears almost fell. He couldn’t afford to expose himself. Not here, not now. “I am  _ so  _ happy for you.”

\---

“Heyyyy Iwaizumi-san!” Bokuto called in his drunken drawl. The whole team looked over at him in curiosity. “Didn’t you say that you were in a choir at your university in America? How about you show us your love for Atsumu with a song?”

The team chattered in excitement. 

“R-right, Iwaizumi-san!” Hinata chirped in. “This announcement was so sudden, I don’t think that we approve just yet…” He looked at Hoshiumi for backup, who had a nasty grin on his face.

“Yeah, but maybe if you sing us a song?” Hoshiumi played along.

“Then maybe we’ll reconsider,” Sakusa finished with a smirk.

Iwaizumi rubbed the back of his neck in hesitation. “Guys, you see, a choir is a  _ group  _ of people, plus I never got any of the solos I tried out for. I’m not sure if-”

Atsumu, who was sitting on the sand beside him munching his s’more, laughed. “Oh c’mon, Hajime. I know you can sing.”

The group was silenced, stunned by the first-name basis. 

Oikawa clenched his fists, holding back his tears yet again. It had been about fifteen minutes since the god-awful announcement was made, and  _ no one  _ had shut up about the new couple. Of course, Oikawa joined the fawning every now and then, forcing rigid smiles and loud laughter. It would be weird if he didn’t.

Then, Iwaizumi cleared his throat, falling victim to the pressure. A blush appeared on his face. 

“I’m in the mood for love,” he sang in his baritone voice. “Simply because you’re near me.”

Kageyama’s arm shot out to grab Ushijima’s. His face was red from holding back laughter. 

“Oh my god,” he whispered sharply. “Someone get this on video.”

Iwaizumi ignored him and sang on. “Funny but when you’re near me, I’m in the mood for love.”

Atsumu buried his hands in his face. His fingers were too spaced out, thus failing to hide his cheesy grin.

“Heaven is in your eyes, bright as the stars we’re under.”

Oikawa bit his lip, slowly inching himself into the shadows. His toes and fingers grew cold as his heart thundered even louder.

“Oh is it any wonder?” Iwaizumi paused to look into Atsumu’s eyes, a silent message passing between them. “I’m in the mood for love.”

The team erupted in cheers as Iwaizumi laughed, finishing the song. Atsumu rolled his eyes, yet joined Iwaizumi in his laughter. 

Oikawa turned around, sure that no one was watching him at the moment—not even Iwaizumi. Not anymore.

He brought a hand up to his chest, and squeezed the area right above his heart. 

_ Make it stop _ , he wanted to say out loud. He shut his eyes. The dread that came with the realization was finally settling in.

He was too late.


End file.
